Darkness Within: Acceptance
by Aegri Somnia Vana
Summary: Trapped in an eternal cage, he waits for his death to arrive but he is not alone and Yami wants revenge. (For DarkHeart Yami's challenge)
**A/N: Okay so when i said i'd wait till my exams. I was wrong. Writing is a freakin addiction! So yeah...**

 **Anyway, my mind is a little crazy when it comes to writing. So the following is a little torturous, just a tinsy winsy bit...!**

 **So without further ado...**

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An ache. A traumatizing twinge coursed through him as he tried to make out his surroundings. Every part of him knew that he was running out of time. Grey was what enclosed him, a suffocating dead shade. Barren land stretched out all over, no sign of vegetation, settlements, people… life. Panic swelled up inside of him.

Where was he?

But that was not what instigated the fear. His purple orbs widened as he caught glimpse of the decay rising up his legs like a fungus, infesting his body. All the time, all his life he worked to stop this from happening but Yami had broken free and he was caged, putrefying to his death. The flesh around his feet was already turning to a sickly pinkish shade with slight pus enveloping it. Nausea had grasped him with its harsh claws and he fell head first onto the ground as the rotting curse slowly tormented him. A hoarse scream left his lips as his pupils dilated and desperately darted from left to right to find an exit, an escape or any kind of haven.

Exhaling shakily, he tried to endure the ever growing pain. He was not going to succumb to this. He was stronger than it.

But that's where he was wrong the most.

He wasn't stronger. As each second passed his life rotted away, after every second he weakened. Burning… He screamed as he writhed, his body twitching as pain engulfed him. His blood burned as it ran through his veins like an acidic poison corroding him. His scream echoed through the land uselessly. No help was on the way. It was his inevitable end.

"HELP!" He shouted out but was met with silence. An eerie silence it was, hanging heavy in the air declaring his impending doom.

Shutting his eyes, he tried to calm his breathing but it was of no use. The decay had impaled his flesh and had started to gnaw at his bones. His flesh had turned to a black tar like substance and was melting away. An unearthly screech escaped him as he cried out for help over and over.

Still silence.

"SOMEBODY! HELP!" Gripping his thigh, he tried to make the throbbing stop. A series of blotches were beginning to appear near his feet, large and hideous bubbling over his pale skin. He tried to reach out to shake it off.

The moment his skin made contact the decay latched itself onto his hand. Shrieking, he waved his arm and rubbed his hand on the ground hoping it could heal him. Alas, the result was quite the opposite.

The splodges had started to bleed letting out the crimson liquid as they mixed with the grey of the ground under him. The red of the blood got swallowed by the dominant grey. It seemed that it dissolved all life force by devouring anything that crossed its path, turning it into nothingness. The white haired lad wondered if it would engulf him the same way leaving no trace of his existence.

A wave of fright and dread washed over him by the mere thought as his heart beat augmented. He needed to find a way out. Moaning, he tried to pull himself up. The surge of adrenaline and agony left him trembling and he smashed into the ground once again. He could not fight it. He could not flee. He stayed there lying helplessly on the ground as he pursed his lips in a feeble attempt to suppress his whimpering.

Suddenly a cackle reverberated in the air, loud and haunting. The abrupt introduction of the sound made his ears hurt to an agonizing extent. He raised his blotchy blood coated hands to cover them and felt the thick liquid ooze out of his ear canal as well. Rolling over, Dark Heart tried to decrease the intensity of the sound reaching his drums, however was unsuccessful.

"You are a failure," a voice boomed with the same petrifying tone to it. "Thought you could keep me hidden?" A snicker. "Now that I've got control I'm going to ruin you."

And that's when it all worsened.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" He squirmed and thrashed about. His insides churned and he fought to keep the bile in but failed to do so. The burning liquid made way out of his mouth, as thick as swamp water and utterly red. Blood.

And it would not stop.

He puked over and over staining the ground red only to watch it vanish. He grunted and wiped his mouth with the fabric of his sleeves and tried to squiggle away.

A crunch. Another blood-curdling scream echoed through the barren land as his back arched and kept on folding back. He could feel his bones get crushed and break from the strain, the pull. Veins bulging out, he let out another scream silently praying for death to come soon, for the pain to ease but his body continued to bend.

"STOP! MAKE IT STOP!" He begged as tears rolled down his cheeks and his body was flown to his right. Landing on his arm, he collided hard with the ground. Momentum carried him a few metres ahead as his body rammed down. With hands and legs covered in bruises, his ribs broken, flesh decaying he still tried to crawl away. Why wasn't it ending?

His leg began to twist and turn.

"NO! N-AAAAAAAAH!" Shouting out, DarkHeart banged his hands at the ground repeatedly. He could feel the bones cracking, the tendons splitting. Another raucous scream resonated in the air. His throat burned from the effort and eyes reddened as he felt his head ache immensely from the constant screaming, making it feel like he had been hit with a hammer continuously. The plain thought turned to reality as his body got jerked up and smashed into the ground. Pounded... literally he was being pounded and battered against the hard cold ground.

Blood spurted from his nose due to the constant pummeling. Suddenly, his body skidded over the rough ground defying the laws of friction as the rocks left cuts upon impact. Soon, he came to a halt. His body flipped over and his back smashed into the ground as a grunt escaped him.

And then it stopped.

A chill ran through him. Dark Heart could feel some disconnection as if the presence causing him harm had left. Hope sparked within him but he quickly buried it. He couldn't have won.

Just to prove his point, his body twitched violently making it look like a paroxysm and he felt his throat tighten, his trachea constrict. Asphyxiate... that was how he would die.

A dim figure hovered over him. Devious eyes gleamed as they took him in while he thrashed around trying to break free from the suffocating grip. Dark Heart could feel the fingers curling around his neck, digging into his flesh. A smirk was etched across the figure's face and his grip strengthened. A sense of familiarity took hold of Dark Heart as he recognised his cruel adversary.

Yami.

Dark Heart scratched at Yami's arm desperately trying to let himself out of the smothering cage. But Yami's grip only tautened.

"You thought captivating me could keep you safe... So naive. You brought this upon yourself. You should have destroyed me when you had the chance. Now I will kill you in the confines of the same cell you created for me. Your death will seal my freedom." Yami said unflappably as he clutched harder.

Dark Heart could feel the life getting sucked out of him. His head was woozy and his vision was beginning to blur. Amongst all the chaos and pain surrounding him he thought of his family, his mum.

 _She smiled standing in the kitchen, daylight penetrating through the window._

 _"Is my little angel up? What do you want to have for breakfast?"_

 _Embracing him, she kissed his forehead._

 _The scene shifted as titters and laughter suddenly surrounded him. When he turned around he found himself staring at Gingka and the gang who continued to chuckle._

 _"Dude... did you let a bird make a nest in your hair?" Gingka asked._

 _"Look who's talking, Gingka!" Madoka grinned._

 _"You look fine, Dark Heart," Kenta claimed. "You ready for battling me today?"_

 _It all faded and he found himself in the Bey-Park. He had a rush of adrenaline as Kitsune revolved, letting out black energy daggers, aiming them straight for the opponent. A bright flash ended it. He had won._

A mocking laugh jolted him back to the present.

Victory was long gone.

No air. Suffocation was something new to him. It was as if there was a column of vacuum surrounding him. His lungs exerted immense pressure against his chest, expanding to take in the maximum amount of oxygen, each time harder; so hard that it would not surprise him if his lungs just burst out.

He was near.

His eyelids began to droop and he halted his flailing. He just had to give in. It would end. All his suffering and trauma, _everything_ would end. He just had to accept his defeat, he just had to stop fighting back and let go.

He rested his hands against the ground calmly and smiled succumbing to his agony and pain, feeling it swallow him as he drifted away from his life to his end, to his death.

Yami gaped at the white haired lad and rage overtook him. He strangled him with all his force.

He needed to see him suffer, he wanted to see him writhe in agony, and he wanted Dark Heart's torture to be everlasting and excruciating.

"I HAVE WON!" Yami screamed as he pressed harder crushing Dark Heart's windpipe and ending his misery. "I have won..." Yami stared at the lifeless lad, his skin paler than ever and eyes bloodshot.

It's funny how wrong he was.

Dark Heart had finally understood. It wasn't about who stayed or lived through it. It was how contended he was with the results. Dark Heart had accepted the beast inside him, the darkness within him. He had admitted the fact that he was its creator and had to face the consequences alone. He had no support or help from anyone because Yami was a result of his acts, his and his only. And he was satisfied with the outcome. So he was ready to face his death to defeat the monster he had created because...

His acceptance was the ultimate victory.

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 **A/N: ... So he died. The reason? Um... because I am not a fan of 'he lived happily ever after by riding off into the sunset' endings! And because he had to die... C'mon, we are talking about freakin' darkness... nobody gets away alive from that! Or at least gets away alive in one piece.**

 **Do drop in a review to tell me how it was. Crazy? Stupid? Or plainly awesome! xD**


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